BARABANKI: A 33-year-old woman allegedly died after being kept tied to a pillar for around 10 days in Uttar Pradesh‘s Barabanki, where a self-styled godman and others performed “faith healing” rituals to treat her alleged mental illness, police said on Wednesday.The woman’s husband Ankit Yadav, self-styled godman Munna (71), and his associate Kadir Ahmad (55) have been arrested in connection with the incident, they said.According to police, Ruby Yadav, a resident of Lucknow’s Gomtinagar, was brought to the Community Health Centre in Deva on Monday evening after her condition deteriorated. Doctors declared her dead later that night.A preliminary inquiry revealed that Ruby had allegedly been tied to a pillar for around 10 days at a shrine in the Deva area, separate from and located some distance away from a shrine, they added.“Rituals” were allegedly being performed there in the name of treating her mental illness, police said.In a complaint lodged with the police, the woman’s father, Pramod Yadav, a resident of Sitapur district, alleged that his son-in-law, along with the self-styled godman and his associate, kept his daughter tied to the pillar for several days while performing “exorcism” and other rituals.He alleged that Ruby’s condition deteriorated during this period, eventually leading to her death.Station house officer (Deva) Alok Mani Tripathi said the three accused were arrested on the basis of the complaint. They have been booked and remanded in judicial custody after being produced before a court.He said further legal action would be taken after receipt of the post-mortem report and based on the findings of the investigation.(With inputs from PTI)
